The Descent into Hell Is Easy
by Queen of Socks
Summary: A collection of my Shadowhunter/TMI ficlets that will grow with time.
1. Mistakes of the Past

**Mistakes of the Past**

When she looked at Isabelle, she saw herself. How passionate she had been, how idealistic.

And naive.

What an incredibly dangerous combination.

A young woman, no, _a girl_ who thought she knew best. Who thought she could change the world. That the rules of the Clave did not apply to her.

Oh, what a fool she had been, being swayed by the promising words of a charismatic man. And what those promises he had talked of had been! How eagerly she had soaked in those words that had tasted like an expensive, but oh so addictive wine that she had failed to notice that the sweetness of those promises had only ever served to mask a poison that she feared her body and mind would never get rid of.

Oh, Valentine surely had a way with words, spinning a web of a future so appealing to their little group of Shadowhunters, that when they had finally noticed that they were not the words of a brilliant man, a visionary, but those of a madman, it had already been too late and their hands covered in the blood of innocents.

 _Pride comes before a fall_ , they say. And how far they had fallen. The Lightwood name tarnished in the eyes of the Clave and the future she had dreamed of, a better future for her family, _for her children_ , far out of her reach.

 _I'm sorry_ , she thought when she looked at them struggling to make her and Robert proud. _I'm so sorry, Isabelle, that it is you and Max and Alec who have to pay for Robert's and my mistakes._

 _I'm sorry that it is you who has no other choice but to accept the hand we were dealt with, no matter how bad it is._

 _I'm sorry that you cannot be who you want to be. That I make you feel you are not enough, that you feel forced to change. To deny who you truly are._

" **The Law is hard** ", she whispered and closed her eyes, burning the image of her children into her mind, trying to twist themselves into what they think, no, what she, Maryse, made them feel they have to be. " **But it is the Law**."

She knew it was the only way for her family, the only way to redeem the Lightwood name in the eyes of the Clave.

 _I don't want you to make the same mistakes._

 _It's the only choice we have._

But why did those words have to leave this bitter taste that she feared she could never get rid of?

And why did it feel like her family was falling apart right in front of her eyes?


	2. After the Announcement

**After the Announcement**

"You knew!" His voice shook and his fingers were digging hard into her skin. She ripped her arm free from his grip.

"Of course I knew!", she snapped. "I was here, so of course I knew. But where were you?"

He blinked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Jace", she said, her voice sounding strange even to her own ears, "you were off somewhere with Clary doing the-Angel-knows-what ..." She took a deep breath, trying to control herself, to reign her anger in. "No one knew where you were. Our parents were not ... pleased. Who do you think had to deal with the fallout?"

"Listen, Izzy. First of all, Clary and I were not doing, to quote you, 'the-Angel-knows-what', but we were trying our best to deal with the whole Mortal Cup slash Valentine slash How-to-save-Clary's mom situation. Shouldn't be news to you. And second, what does that have to do with Alec getting married? And then to Lydia of all people?"

She closed her eyes. Tried to calm herself. "I overheard our parents talking about marrying Alec off. To form a political alliance to restore our family name."

"What? You ... Really? Maryse and Robert would never-"

"They would", she interrupted him, not being able to not let the irritation show that his words had caused. "Don't even try to deny this. They might never do such a thing to you but Alec and I have always been a disappointment. You, on the other hand, can never do anything wrong. You are mom's golden boy."

"Izzy."

The tone in his voice threw her off and seeing the hurt in his expression immediately blew her anger away. "I'm sorry", she said softly. "I shouldn't have said that." She ran a hand through her hair, not caring about the disarray that would cause. "It's just ... Alec and I have talked about this and I thought we had agreed he would say no."

He sighed. "By the Angel, why do our lives have to be so complicated? Is it too much to ask for simply one thing to go right?" He let out a quiet laugh. "Almost feels like we are part of a drama show."

She could not resist the urge to roll her eyes and felt the corner of her mouth twitch.

He grinned. "Is that a smile I see on your face?" Then he cleared his throat, his expression became serious. "But you are right. We can't let him do this. I don't even understand why he would-"

"Jace, in case you haven't noticed yet, that's exactly what Alec always does! Sacrificing himself and his happiness to help us. To protect our family."

"Yeah, sounds like Alec." He rubbed his face. "Looks like this time we are the ones who have to talk some sense into him."

She nodded. "Now it's our turn to protect him. Even if it's from himself."

"No, Iz. Especially from himself."


	3. Safe

**Safe**

"So, what is he like?"

"Who?"

"Magnus Bane."

"Izzy, you've met him."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, his public persona. But surely he must've shown you a different side."

When he did not say anything, she reached out, her hand just barely touching his arm. "Oh, come on, please. You never talk to me about anything, Alec."

"That's not true, Iz. We're talking."

"But not about what really matters."

He stared at her. This, right now, felt far too familiar.

Seemingly having read his thoughts she shrugged. "It's not my fault we seem to be having this conversation over and over again lately."

He sighed. She was right. Of course, she was right. "I guess he's ... nice?"

"Nice, Alec? Really?" She raised an eyebrow.

He played with the hem of his shirt, trying to find the right words to describe what he did not really understand himself. Being with Magnus was different than being with his family. He cursed himself for not being able to even choke out a complete sentence with the warlock standing in front of him, stumbling over the smallest words and blurting out what little was left on his mind.

He was _special_. And Magnus had the gift of making Alec feel as if he could be special, too. None of his problems seemed to matter anymore when Magnus was looking at him. When he smiled, he felt a warmth that chased away the cold that he had been so sure was ingrained in his bones. And when they talked - and by the Angel, he really had to admit he liked hearing his voice - he felt understood.

He did not seem to look down on him or expect more from him than he could give. Even though the sheer presence of him made him go all tongue-tied and lose all his control that he so desperately tried to hold onto under normal circumstances, he felt oddly _safe_.

He did not have to hide. Pretend to be someone he never was.

He could be himself. Just Alec. Not a big brother or the acting head of the Institute. For a moment he could forget about being a disappointment to his parents, the weight on his shoulders seemed to disappear.

"He ... sort of _gets_ me, you know?"

When her smaller hand slipped into his, he looked up, not having noticed that he had stared at his hands for far too long. He did not know what she saw in this moment, when their eyes finally met. But he felt that he did not mind whatever it was she seemed to read on his face because he saw her smile soften, her gaze full of warmth.

"Alec", she said, her voice gentle, "promise me you won't let go of him."


End file.
